Improvement in car-starters



2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. SALOMON.

CAR-STARTER.

Patented Aug. 8,1876.

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Wines-fes r N.PIERS, PMUTG-LITHOGHAPHEAR. WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT EETCE.

ETIENNE SALOMON', OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-STARTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 180,792, dated August8, 1876; application filed April 25. 1816.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ETIENNE SALOMON, of the city of Montreal, in thedistrict of Montreal and Province of Quebec, Canada, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in lApparatus for the Starting ofStreet-Cars, 821e.; and l do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to that class of carstarters in which theapplication of the brake, for the purpose of slowing up or stopping thecar, throws a spring or air-compressing mechanism in gear with acog-wheel on the axle of the car, the force thus stored up beingutilized on again starting the car.

My improvement consists of certain mechanA ical combinations, so fullyexplained hereinafter as to require no preliminary enumeral tion.

Figure 1 of the drawing is a side view of the apparatus with the pistonand rack-bar out to their fullest extent. Fig. 2 is a plan View of thesame,looking from underneath. Fig. 3 is an end view of the rack-bar,guides, &c., with the piston and cylinder removed. Fig. 4 is a side Viewof the invention, showing the rackbar` engaging with the arbor of thewheel. Fig. 5 is a view of the lifting devices separate from the otherparts. Fig. 6 is a View of the mechanism for throwing the rack-bar inand out of gear with the axle of the wheels.

A is a cylinder, of any diameter, proportion, and strength, of metal,open either at one or both ends, and secured, in any suitable manner andposition, to the car, B being the piston of any approved constructionand packing, having arranged on its outer face (hung in proper sidepieces) a roller, b, against which impinges the double rack-bar C, to behereinafter more particularly mentioned, and being kept in the propervertical position by guides b1 (or any analogous device) projecting fromthe face of the piston. D D are vertical plates, inclosing between themthe rack-bar C, and being of some such form as that shown in Fig. 5.These are secured together at any number of points b y pins d, whichserve as spindles to the friction-rollers E E. F F are similar rollersarranged at the end of the guide-plates D, nearest the cylinder, oneither side of the rollers E, and serving as distance-pieces betweenthese rollers and the side pieces f, all being securely attachedtogether by the pins d, as before described. These pieces f slide up anddown in grooves formed in the pillow-blocks G, and serve to keep theguide-plates D from moving from the cylinder A, affording them, at thesame time, perfect freedom to move in a vertical direction. All theseparts are clearly shown in Fig. 3. These pillow-blocks Gr, and also theframes g, are bolted or otherwise secured to dan ges cast on thecylinder, in the pillow-blocks being formed bearings for the axle H,having the arbor I rmly secured upon it.

To the lower part ot' the cylinder is secured, either rigidly oras shownin the drawings, a bent bar, K, having its other end secured to theframe g, and provided with projecting stops 7o lc' formed upon it. K1 K2are short links pivoted, respectively, to the bent bar K and the platesD, and connected at L by a pivot-joint, to the sliding bar L, as shownmore particularly in Fig. 5. The other end of this sliding bar L ishooked to the pivoted joint of the short links L1 L2, the other ends ofthese being pivoted, respectively, to the frame g and the guide-platesD. M is a short shaft rotated by the action of the brake, eitherdirectly or through a lever or other mechanism. Upon this shaft isfirmly secured a forked or double cam, N,the conguration of which willbe more fully alluded to farther on, its connection with the parts nowin course of description being, however, as follows:

Ois a slotted cam, of the construction shown i Figs. 1,4, 5, and 6, inwhich works a roller or pin, a, on the arm N1 of the cam N, O1 being ashort double lilik pivoted to the frame g, secured rigidly to O, andconnecting it with the sliding bar L.

The Whole of this lifting apparatus is, for clearness, shown separatelyin Fig. 5.

The device whereby the double rack'bar C is driven inward, so as toengage with the arbor I on the axle of the wheels, is clearly shown inFig. 6, and may be thus described: The cam N is, in addition to the armNl, furnished with a double fork, N2 N3, the former of these engagingwith and acting upon the cam P mounted loosely upon a spindle, R,secured to the frame g, the cam P having toes P1, P, and P3, to thelatter one of which is secured a pin, P4, strikin g into the hooked endof the bent arm S, the other end of this being pivoted to the bar T,which strikes against a projection, O1, formed on the side of the doublerack C. Upon the spindle 1i is mounted another cam, Q, with arms Q* Q2,acted upon by the arm N3 of the cam N, this being shaped so as not tointerfere, as it is lifted np, with the toe Q1. The arm N3 will, whenthe cam is brought back to the position shown in Figs. 1, 5, and U,strike, in its motion, against the upper surface of Q1, thus bringingthe arm (22 in contact with the bend T1 ofthe bar T. The arm andeounterpoise U (raised by the action of each of the devices justdescribed) are, as shown, secured to the center ofthe bent arm S.

The cam P is properly weighted, so as always to return to the positionshown in Fig. 1.

The operation of my invention is as follows: Presuming that the car isin full motion, all the parts will be in the relative positions shown inFigs. 1, 5, and 6, the axle H revolving clear of the racks in therack-bar C. The action of the brake, when put on to stop the car, willbe, either directly or indirectly, such as to rotate the shaft M, andwith it the cam N, the roller-pin n on the arm N1 working in the slot ofthe cam O, (this slot, however, being so shaped that the pin n will notact upon the cam until it reaches its eXtreme throw,) and, by meansofthe link 0, pushing` inward the sliding bar L, which straightens thetoggle-arms Kl K2 L] L2, the hook kaeting asa stop to the pivotjoint l,and keeping the tog gle arms or links K K2 at their extreme stretch. Asthe lower arms K L' are pivoted, respectively, to the bent bar K andframes g, and are, therefore, incapable of downward movement, thisaction of the bar L raises the guide-plates D, (to which the arms K2 L2are pivoted,) and brings them to a height sufficient to allow the lowerrack of the bar C to engage with the arbor I.

Simultaneously with the above movement the arm N2 of the cam N is raisedby the revolution of the shaft M, and comes in contact with the toe l1of the cam l on the shaft R, thus rotating the cam l and causing the pinP4 to strike into the hooked end S1 of the bent arm S, throwing the bentbar T sharply backward, and causing it to strike against the projectionC on the rack-bar C, pushing it inward sufficiently to enable the teethon the lower edge of the rack to intermesh with those of the arbor, theparts being in the relative positions shown in Fig. 4. The revolution ofthe axle will then gradually press inward the rack-bar C, and through itthe piston B, thus compressing the air in the cyl. inder, the forcerequired to do so gradually retarding the revolution of the axle and themotion of the car until both are completely stopped. As soon as thebrake is released, and, by the action ofso doing, the guide-plates l)are lowered, (the movement of the parts for raising them beingreversed,) and the npper rack of the -bar C is at a point more or lessdistant from its innerV end thrown into gear with the arbor I, thepressure of the air then forces out the piston B and rack-bar C, and theteeth in the upper rack then intermeshing with those of the arbor I, andrapidly turning the axle, thus starting the car. It will, of course, beunderstood that the rack-bar is brought back to its original position,so as to allow the arbor to revolve clear of its teeth. lhen the car isrunning in the opposite direction, the guide-plates D are kept up by themechanism before described, the rack-bar C being so far forward as notto intermesh with the arbor.

The action of the brake, then, by means of the bar L, actuating thetoggle-arms K1 K2 Ll L2, lowers the guide-plates D with the rackbar C,the movement of the cam N causing the point N2 to strike downward thetoe Q' of the earn Q, thus bringing the toe Q2 directly' against thebend T1 of the bar T, and the other end in contact with the piece C1 ofthe rack C, and causing the teeth to engage with those of the arbor.

The same movement which, when the ear car is running in one direction,throws the rack into gear with the arbor, releases it when it is runningin the other.

The raising and lowering of the rack-bar may be operated by the pull ofthe horses in starting the car.

This invention may also be applied to railway-cars, and will be found avery valuable adjunct to the steam and vacuum brakes now employed,especially in shunting, where the cars have to be often detached andrecoupled. It may also be used with advantage in some sorts ofmachinery, especially where a train of wheels are to be started.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and wishsecured by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. The combination of the plates D, carrying the rack-bar C,distance-pieces F, and guides f, all working in the pillow-blocks G, orany part of the frame ofa cylinder, as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of the cam N, cam O, link O1, slidingr bar L,toggle-arms K1 K2 Ll L2, the whole being operated by the action of thebrake, for the purpose of raising and lowering the plates D,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the cam N, cam P, bent arm S, and bar T, the wholereceiving motion from the brake, and operatin g the rackbar C,substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. The combination ofthe cam N and cam Q with the bar T, the wholeactuated by the brake. and operating the rack-bar G, as and for thepurposes set forth.

Montreal, 18th day of April, 1876.

ET. SALOMON.

Witnesses:

FRAs. HY. REYNOLDS, W. A. FLYNN.

